Friday, February 29, 2008

Fertilization report!

Out of my 12 eggs retrieved 8 were mature (little disappointing but oh well) The good news is out of the 8 that were ICSI'd all 8 fertilized! I don't have any grades since I'm only 1 day past ER today. Tomorrow I guess they will have grades. I won't know till I go in for transfer though. What sucks is my RE won't even consider doing anything but a 2dt. I guess that is for the best but it would still be nice to transfer 2 blasts. I have to be at the hospital at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Yet another Saturday of getting up at the crack of dawn. I just hope all are great quality. If they are he will freeze them on day 2. If they are not great quality they will push for day 3 or 5 to freeze. I hope that they ask me before they freeze them. I need to know how much $$ it is. I also want them frozen in batches of 3 if I have 6 to freeze. (since not all embryo's make the thaw) besides if this IVF doesn't work I'll be telling my DH and my RE that I'm transferring 3 on an FET. DH is scared to transfer 3 but at this point I'm willing to take the risk of all 3 taking. I highly doubt that would happen though. Heck I highly doubt all 3 would survive the thaw. Then again I could be wrong. Stranger things have happened.

I'm pretty happy with my results but still nervous/disappointed in doing a 2dt. People that are "young" with lots of embryo's usually get pushed for a 5dt. However given my history my RE doesn't want to risk it...I'm almost willing to take the risk. Part of me wants to call and talk to him about the transfer (or one of the embryologists). Needless to say I'll be asking the embryologist lots of questions before they do the transfer tomorrow.

Looks like the LH did the trick!

6 comments:

D. said...

YAY!!!!!!!!! What a difference from your last cycle. I think tomorrow your report will be excellent. That is a fantastic sign that you got 100% fertilization.

At this point, I'd start to feel pretty comfortable with a 2dt if that is what your RE suggests. He's been right on the money so far. The only thing I'd make sure of is that he really can tell quality at day 2. You know, most blast transfers are with 2 embies, and most 3dt are with 3 or 4 embies. I am with you on selecting a lower #, but I'd want to make sure he was real confident on knowing quality so early. Although, sounds like you say he is. With a 2dt, I "might" be tempted to transfer 3. But, that is a hard and personal decision.

So, what exactly does the LH do? How did your RE know to put you on it? Sorry, I know you explained that before, but my understanding is a still a little fuzzy. What a miracle drug though!

Best of luck to you tomorrow! I'll be praying for you.

Amy said...

The only time 3-4 embryos are placed back is when woman are over 35 and it's mostly with woman over 40. In some rare cases younger woman do put back 3 on a 3 day transfer but only when the quality of the embryo is poor. Most of the time it is 2 embryo's regardless of the day of transfer (from what I've seen on the FF forums that is)

As far as LH goes it is used in woman where egg quality is suspected. Since my past IVF's hadn't been to good they thought egg quality was one of my issues. It appears they were right. We'll see tomorrow when I get the grading.

As far as a 2dt goes, as nervous as I am I know that my RE's embryologist can pick good embryo's by day 2. They have done tons of studies to prove their theory. It still makes me nervous though. There are lots of factors that go into a "good quality" embryo. Not just good cell growth (4 cells on day 2, 8 cells on day 3 ect) but if the cells divide evenly...meaning the cells are the same size. Not some larger then other. They also look at how many nucleus in each cell (there should only be one) Here is something I found online:

quote:

"Eggs retrieved from the ovaries are inseminated with sperm during therapeutic in vitro fertilization (IVF). Fertilization must be confirmed by the embryologist and embryo development carefully monitored thereafter. On the first, second and third days of development, embryo quality is evaluated based on key morphological markers, including the number of cells, cell size and symmetry, multinucleation (more than one nucleus in each cell) and the presence of cytoplasmic fragmentation. The thickness of the zona pellucida, the protective shell surrounding the developing embryo, is also a consideration for embryologists as they select the "best" embryos for replacement in the uterus."

I guess my reasoning for wanting a 5dt is so I can physically see that they make it to blast and or hatch. I know the best place is back in the uterus and that's essentially where mine should be since egg/embryo quality seems to be an issue with me. However seeing them make it to blast would be so nice. KWIM?

At least I should have some to freeze!!! If this IVF doesn't work I would MUCH rather do an FET!

Amy said...

Here is more info on the same web site:
"

The rate of cleavage (cell division) is an important predictor of an embryo’s developmental potential. Evidence indicates that early cleavage, embryos with four cells on day 2, and embryos with seven to nine cells on day 3 result in higher implantation rates and establish more pregnancies than those with fewer or more cells at those time-points. Based on this, we preferentially replace seven to nine cell embryos on day 3 and consider others for cryopreservation if they meet additional quality standards.

Uneven cleavage is common among human embryos developing in-vitro and there is general agreement that replacement of embryos with this characteristic results in lowered pregnancy and implantation rates. This may be due to an unequal distribution of cellular components among uneven cells or the occurrence of more nuclear abnormalities among them. As a result, these embryos generally are not selected if others are available."

D. said...

I am SO GLAD you have such a great RE this time around!!! What a relief to know you are in good hands!

Rho said...

Sounds like a great fert rate! Good luck with the ET tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Congrats! 100% fertilization!!!!!